Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum)possess excellent benefits that make them highly relevant in homes and offices, especially in our world of continuous atmospheric pollution and contamination.
They possess excellent detoxifying characteristics, especially neutralizing organic gases such as toluene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and xylenes; and can be propagated easily, even by newbie propagators who relish their air filtration and purification properties.
When to Propagate a Spider Plant
Their best season of growth and replication is spring, so it’s advisable to Wait until spring or summer to propagate them.
Your spider plants can be propagated once every 1 or 2 years, whenever those spiderettes develop on them.
How are Spider Plants Propagated?
Spider plants are commonly propagated from the little spiderettes or baby spider pups growing on a mature spider plant. The spiderettes look much like tiny knobs with whitish hairs on them.
Spider plant pups can be rooted in water or directly in a well-aerated soil mix. Detaching the spiderettes from the mother and growing them separately in a different medium or allowing the spider plant runner to develop its roots is absolutely up to you. Both methods have a very high chance of success.
My favorite method of rooting the spiderettes is water in a glass jar. The tender spiderette pups develop visible hair-like roots quickly and easily in water. It takes a week or two to see the root hairs growing on the pups.
Careful, though, to ensure the newly developed roots are not left for too long in the water; otherwise, they begin to rot and die.
Propagating Spider Plant in Water
- First is the selection of viable spiderettes for propagation. Only choose pups with a height of at least 2 inches growing on the plant and 2-3 leaves attached.
- Gently cut out the pups with a sharp, clean pair of scissors, knife, or gardening shears.
- Now get your glass container filled with natural water ready. Don’t use water treated with chlorine or other chemicals; these may have adverse effects on the plant’s growth.
- Insert two or three spiderette cuttings into the glass jar with the leaves hanging above the water level. Ensure the leaves are dipped in the water, as they will rot and die too early before the pups are well rooted.
- Place the glass set-up where there’s sufficient indirect sunlight.
- You may need to change the water in the glass at least once a week whenever you observe the water is no longer clear and fresh.
- Once your spiderettes are correctly rooted, you’ll need to transplant them in a nutrient-enriched soil mix potting.
Propagating Spider Plants in Soil Potting
This is the most straightforward method of propagating Spider plants. You can reproduce a spider pup still attached to its mother directly in soil without cutting it.
Identify a set of well-developed spiderettes and fill them with the soil mix without cutting. The spiderettes will be rooted in less than ten days.
Once the spiderettes are well rooted, they can be severed from the mother plant and grown separately in a new pot.
Another way to propagate spiderettes in a soil mix potting is by cutting them off the mother plant and rooting them in a separate soil mix potting. The spiderette pups may require rooting hormones such as honey to grow in a new soil potting.
What is the Water Requirement of Spider Plants
Spider plants are excellent succulent plants and can adapt to environments with limited water availability. A drastic water shortage, however, will significantly impede their growth rate and general appearance.
A mature spider plant should be watered at most once a week during summer and spring. It would be best if you were careful to reduce how frequently you water them during autumn and winter.
The easiest way to deduce their water requirements is by observing the potting soil and always keeping it damp but not flooded. On the other hand, you should not allow your spider plant for up to 2 weeks without water.
What are the best soil Requirements for Propagating Spider Plants
They enjoy a mildly acidic soil mix with good aeration and water retention properties. An excellent spider plant soil mix should have peat moss with perlite in measured quantity, with a sufficient blend of pine bark fines.
For the newbie propagators, any regular soil mix, such as cactus soil mix and succulent soil mix will readily grow your spider plants without any adverse effects.
The soil mix potting should have a suitable drain in order not to hold too much water that may negatively affect the plant’s health. You can create artificial drainage on your Potting by punching a few holes at its sides and bottom areas.
Where to place a Spider Plant in the Home
I like to grow Spider plants in my Home because they are traditionally considered symbols of prosperity (at least psychologically).
They are great in the kitchen, helping to purify the air. You can also have one in your bedroom or dining area; there’s no room in the Home where they’re not welcome.
Common Pests of Spider Plants
Spider plants possess a characteristic foliage design: narrow, variegated, spider-like-looking leaves. They easily attract insect pests such as spider mites, mealybugs, aphids, and white flies. They’re easily controlled using natural Neem oil Pesticide spray.
Best Lighting Condition for Spider Plants
Spider plants can get sunburned from direct sunshine and thrive in low-light indoor conditions with minimal effects on their appearance.
However, the best Lighting Condition for them is average or brightly shining indirect sunlight. Positioning them at the eastern and western-facing windows offers them the most significant advantage.
You can tell if your spider plant is receiving adequate sunshine by the brightness of its leaves. They begin to develop leggy and falling leaves when the sunlight is insufficient.
How long do Spider Plants live
Spider plants keep growing for a minimum of 20 years, making them faithful companions for a lifetime. Some expert propagators have claimed to have some growing for up to 50 years, growing to heights up to 10 feet tall.
Spider Plants are now highly recommended to people dealing with anxiety and depression because consistently seeing those fragile natural leaves helps minimize cortisol levels, reducing stress and anger.
If you’re lucky, one may bloom and bring out those rare, seldom-noticed flowers, promising hope in brighter days ahead.